Match report Chelsea 4 vs West Ham 0

Match report Chelsea 4 vs West Ham 0

Ballack scores as Chelsea storm Upton Park
01.03.08

Chelsea have gained ground on league leaders Arsenal today. The Gunners only drew 1-1 with Aston Villa, while the Blues won 4-0 away from home in the London derby with West Ham - even though Frank Lampard was dismissed in the first half. Michael Ballack went the distance - and scored Chelsea's third with less than half an hour gone.

This third goal put the finishing touches on opening minutes that saw Chelsea run rampant. Less than 180 seconds had passed when Nicolas Anelka found the target, only for the referee to rule him offside and don't allow the goal to stand. It was not a correct decision, but Chelsea could live with it as the goals soon started coming anway. First the Hammers' Anton Ferdinand brought down Salomon Kalou in the box and Lampard converted the ensuing penalty (17'). Then Joe Cole scored a nice goal to increase the led (20'), before Ballack found the target with a fine volley from a Lampard cross (22').

Those three goals in five minutes pretty much decided the encounter, even though West Ham were handed a lifeline after 36 minutes: there was a scuffle between Lampard and Luis Boa Morte and the linesman deemed a shove from Lampard to constitute violent conduct. He alerted the referee to the situation and Lampard was red-carded. It was a harsh decision, even West Ham's coach Alan Curbishley later said so.

Still, even with ten men Chelsea never really ran into trouble. In the second half, John Terry cleared the ball off the line after Carlton Cole had lobbed Petr Cech, but apart from this chance the hosts rarely created opportunities. On 64 minutes the game was over as a contest when Joe Cole's attempt at goal was parried only for Ashley Cole to put the rebound away from a tight angle to make it 4-0.

Fuente en inglés, página oficial de Michael Ballack:
http://www.michael-ballack.com/?103A0A2A100A0A9579


Line-up
Barclays Premier League, Saturday March 1st 2008 at Upton Park, London.

West Ham United (4-5-1): Green; Neill (c), Ferdinand, Upson, McCartney; Faubert(Solano 65), Mullins, Noble, Ljungberg; Boa Morte (Ashton h-t); Cole (Zamora 65).
Manager Alan Curbishley.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole; Ballack, Makelele (Alex 83), Lampard; J Cole (Essien 68), Anelka, Kalou (Malouda 74).
Manager Avram Grant

Source Chelsea FC Official website:
http://www.chelseafc.com/xxchelsea180706/index.html#/page/ArchiveNews/list_2210603_2

First, after 16 minutes, Lampard fired home a penalty in front of the Bobby Moore stand after Salomon Kalou had been clumsily tripped inside the area by Anton Ferdinand.

On 19 minutes it was two. Anelka laid off, and Joe Cole fired a low left-footed drive beyond Green into the far corner. Respectfully, the winger chose a muted celebration at his old stomping ground.

Within a blink of an eye Ballack had made it three, with a mirror of Cole's effort, after Lampard nonchalantly crossed with the outside of his right foot.

Source Chelsea FC Official Website:
http://www.chelseafc.com/xxchelsea180706/index.html#/page/ArchiveNews/list_2210603_1